


Mom's Clownfriend

by SlytherinPirate



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Child Abuse, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Forced Outing, Just Bear With Me, M/M, Sonia Kaspbrak's A+ Parenting, just trust me, listen, listen i know i KNOW it says Sonia/Pennywise i KNOW, please just fucking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25192279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlytherinPirate/pseuds/SlytherinPirate
Summary: August, 1989. It had been a week since they had defeated It, and Eddie was grounded. When his mother decided that her son needed a "strong male presence," however, Eddie was forced to yet again face the horror he thought he had bested.In other words, Sonia Kaspbrak is dating Pennywise the Dancing Clown.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Sonia Kaspbrak/Pennywise
Comments: 9
Kudos: 49





	1. Mommy's New Friend

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for clicking on this! That summary is one hell of a clickbait title huh?  
> Anyways, since this is crack taken seriously, and Sonia Kaspbrak is involved, there are some dark themes to this story. I'll put content warnings at the beginning of each chapter.  
> Chapter 1 CW:  
> \- Sonia makes Eddie take a Xanax to subdue him, which I'm pretty sure he's too young to take that drug anyway, and it's stated that she has been giving it to him a lot  
> \- General Pennywise creepiness
> 
> Credit to deathsbetwixt and sciencegeeky for being awesome betas!

“You know Eddie, it sure would be real nice of ya to talk to me.”

Eddie glared out the window, refusing to look at the person -- _thing --_ that was driving his mother’s Datsun. He still couldn’t believe this was happening. 

“Eddie bear,” the haunting, and Eddie was sure, also _mocking_ voice said.

“Don’t you fucking call me that, you piece of shit!” Eddie snapped, eyes still trained on the passing trees through glass.

“Watch your language, Eddie,” It cooed.

“Fine. Don’t you freaking call me that,” Eddie gritted his teeth, before muttering, “You piece of shit.” The voice sighed an eerie sigh before finally falling silent, and Eddie thanked fucking God, if there even was one up there.

When Eddie’s mother had brought It home for the first time, Eddie had promptly started screaming. 

“Eddie bear, what’s the matter with you?” His mother bellowed as she chased him up the stairs and into his room.

“Why is that thing here?” Eddie screamed, pointing to the door. He clambered onto his bed and backed up until he hit the wall.

“ _Thing_?” Sonia Kaspbrak put her hands on her hips as she glared sternly at her son. “He is a very nice man and he’s mommy’s new friend. Now, you be nice to him, you hear me?”

“It’s-- what?!” Eddie screeched, the words sinking in. He looked wildly from the door to his mother and back again, thinking it would come for him at any moment. “It’s your boyfriend?!” 

“ _He,_ Eddie! Don’t be rude!”

“This isn’t happening, this can’t be happening,” Eddie repeated to himself, beginning to hyperventilate. Sonia reached for Eddie’s fanny pack and fished his inhaler out before pressing it into his hand.

“Breathe, Eddie, you need to calm down, you’re going to give yourself an attack!” Sonia tilted her head, her voice clipped and snappy. Eddie held the inhaler to his mouth and took a few puffs, trying desperately to calm down. But how could he? How was he expected to fucking calm down? _His mother was dating motherfucking (literally, fucking shudder) Pennywise._

Eddie chucked the inhaler at the opposite wall and let out a frustrated and disbelieving scream.

“Eddie!” his mother yelled, running over to get his inhaler where it dropped to the floor. She brought it over to his nightstand, _tsk tsk tsk_ ing at him. “Fine, if you’re going to be like this there’s only one thing to do.” She disappeared from sight, leaving Eddie behind to scream into his pillow, coming back a minute later with two small, white pills and a glass of water. She placed the glass on the nightstand and forced the pillow from Eddie's grasp before handing him the pills. Eddie, out of habit, took them immediately, grabbing the water to gulp them down with. “Good boy,” Sonia smiled, carding a hand through his hair before standing up. “I’ll come back in twenty minutes, when you’re calm enough to talk,” she said with a coldness in her voice, a tiredness. Why couldn’t her son just behave? 

“He’s-- he’s a clown!” Eddie exclaimed, trying to get literally any sense at all to enter his mother’s brain.

“Don’t make fun of the man’s career, Eddie bear, you know better than that,” Sonia shot her son another stern look before she left the room, closing the door behind her with a force that made Eddie flinch. 

Twenty more minutes of alternating between screaming into his pillow and pacing briskly around his room and Eddie was feeling a sense of calmness and lethargy seeping into his bones. He sat down on his bed, no longer in danger of hyperventilating, his heart rate back to normal. So his mother had given him a Xanax, it appeared. That made sense. She had started giving it to him whenever he appeared stressed out or anxious, like he had been this time. Or, he theorized with a small shudder, she had been giving it to him whenever she wanted to subdue him. Ever since he had found out she had been giving him gazebos, he had been more and more distrusting of everything his mother did. He was fairly positive these weren’t gazebos, though, because he was actually feeling the effects of the medicine and he was pretty sure it wasn’t psychosomatic. 

“Eddie bear?” came a voice accompanied by a knock. Eddie looked up, his countenance guarded and distrusting as his mother opened the door. He swallowed nervously as he saw the monstrous grin that was plastered onto the creature that was standing behind Sonia. He would not show fear against this stupid clown. 

Sonia stood at the door before taking a step to the side so that It could enter as well. It was shorter than Eddie had seen It before, still slightly too tall, just enough to be unsettling, but short enough to be potentially human. It was smiling, Its lips stretching too far across Its face, Its teeth just a little too sharp. Its eyes were reflecting the light in the room, and Eddie wondered what the _fuck_ his mother was thinking.

“Eddie, this is Pennywise. He’s gonna be around a lot nowadays. You need a strong male presence in your life, and I thought Pennywise here would be great for the job.” She smiled at her son, though Eddie only had eyes on _It_. 

“Nice to meet you, Eddie,” said Pennywise, stepping into the room and leaning down, offering a hand for Eddie to shake. “We’re going to have so much fun together!” 

Eddie glared daggers into Its eyes as his mother put her hands on her hips and coughed expectantly. Eddie shuddered and, not quite believing what he was doing, shook Its hand with his left, as his right arm was still in a cast. He gasped a bit in fright when Its hand became vice like upon his, claws digging into his skin not enough to be noticeable to Sonia, but plenty enough to hurt. 

“So much fun,” It whispered quietly as It stared down Eddie. He returned the look, refusing to back down or show fear. 

“Good boy, Eddie.” Sonia beamed with pride at him as Pennywise continued to hold his deathgrip on Eddie’s hand. Eddie squeezed back hard, trying to convey with his expression that _I kicked you in the face once and I’ll fucking do it again. Don’t fucking try me._

“Who broke your arm, Eddie?” It asked with a sly smile. Eddie gritted his teeth in fury.

“It was those nasty friends he hangs out with, they were playing in that old crackhouse on Neibolt,” Sonia said with a tut _._

“That’s a dangerous place, don’t want to be playing there,” It warned, father-like, shaking Its head disapprovingly at Eddie, who merely scowled. His scowl, however, was forced off of his face by a yawn. 

“Alright honey, let’s leave Eddie bear alone so he can get some rest,” Sonia said, resting a hand on Pennywise’s back. Its claws retracted back into Its hand, giving it the appearance of being a normal one, and It finally let go. Eddie yanked his fist back to his chest immediately, holding it close as Pennywise stood up, towering over him.

“See you around, Eddie,” It said with a haunting giggle as It left the room, Eddie’s mother trailing close behind.

“Good night, Eddie,” said Sonia, blowing him a kiss before shutting the door.

Eddie sluggishly got up to get his pajamas on, the medication making his brain feel like if it was going any slower, he would be thinking backwards. Now that he wasn’t freaking out anymore, he was just utterly _sad._ He thought they had defeated It. They all had. But It was back, and It was dating his fucking mom. 

He laid down on his bed and burrowed under the covers, squeezing his eyes shut. Feeling numb, he fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Richie McFreaking Tozier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie needs to tell his friends about the whole It situation, but how can he, while he's still grounded?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Content Warnings:  
> \- Sonia has internalized fatphobia that she projects onto Eddie  
> \- Canon-typical sexual references a la Richie Tozier  
> \- Sonia is clearly manipulative though she doesn't do anything outright in this chapter, it's just the vibe she gives off

Eddie took the stairs cautiously the next morning, looking around for any sign of It as he entered the living room. It wasn’t there, however; the only monster present was the woman who sat in the recliner. 

“Is It-- uh, is he here?” Eddie asked his mother with a nervous swallow.

“He isn’t here at the moment, no,” Sonia said, her eyes trained on the magazine in her hands. Eddie breathed out a sigh of relief and was about to head to the kitchen for some cereal when-- “Come here, Eddie bear.” Eddie turned back and walked slowly over to his mother, wondering what fresh bullshit she had for him this morning. 

Sonia put the magazine onto her lap and reached up to stroke her son’s cheek.

“You were very good for Mommy’s new friend yesterday, after that little meltdown of yours. I know it was hard for you.” 

Eddie grimaced. Sonia didn't even know the half of it.

“You deserve a treat,” Sonia said with a loving smile. “What do you want, Eddie bear? Some candy? Some new clothes?”

“I want to see my friends.”

Sonia’s face fell, her expression hardening.

“Eddie, you know you’re grounded after what you did to Mommy. Throwing your pills on the ground and running away like that. Then you came home all dirty and smelling disgusting. Mommy forgives you, baby, but you must face the consequences.”

“Maybe,” Eddie mumbled, causing his mother to raise an eyebrow. He desperately wanted to see his friends. Ever since he had gotten home from fighting It, he had been locked in the house, courtesy of his mother, who was furious with him for the ‘little stunt’ he had pulled. He had been locked in for a whole week. His only company was the occasional Richie, who would climb the tree outside the house and talk to him through his bedroom window. “Maybe not all of my friends, maybe just one of them?” he asked quietly, thinking of Richie. He was always thinking of Richie now, it seemed.

Sonia sighed, but gave Eddie a small smile.

“Alright, Eddie,” she said, and Eddie perked up, hardly believing his ears. “You can go see one of your friends. Maybe that Bill Denbrough, he seems like a nice boy. Anybody but that Richie Tozier.” She huffed disapprovingly as she said Richie’s name. Eddie grinned at his mother. He was going to get to see one of his friends! After being cooped up for so long, he was finally getting out!

“Thank you Mommy!” Eddie exclaimed, not being able to contain his excitement.

“Don’t shout, Eddie, now go eat your breakfast. I got raisin bran, no more of that fatty cereal, you’re big enough as it is.” Sonia went back to her magazine as she said this, and thus didn’t notice Eddie’s face falling from her comment. He glanced down at himself. Was he really getting big? His friends always made fun of him for being small. His feelings now mixed with excitement and a bit of insecurity, he went to the kitchen to eat his raisin bran. 

Finishing his cereal in record time, Eddie kissed his mother on the cheek before hurrying out the door. Despite what she had said, Eddie headed straight to Richie’s house, wanting him to hear the dreadful news before he told anyone else. Richie was his bestest friend, after all. He hadn’t been able to get a singular image of Richie out of his mind ever since they got back from the sewers: “Welcome to the Losers Club, asshole!” followed by Richie, Richie mcfreaking Tozier, swinging a bat as hard as he could at that fucking clown. Eddie’s heart had swelled to what felt like twice its usual size when it had happened, and it swelled again every time he thought about that moment. Swelled with what emotion, though, well… Eddie had had a week mostly by himself to mull it over, and the answer he had come up with… He didn’t like to think about it, or any of the implications that came with it. All he knew was that his heart beat just a bit faster than normal every time Richie appeared at his window. At first he had thought he had been having some kind of attack, that there was something wrong with him, but as it only happened when Richie was around, that didn’t seem to be the case. No, it was definitely something to do with Richie, something that Eddie was pointedly not thinking about. 

Richie’s father answered the door at Eddie’s knock, giving the boy a warm smile.

“Eddie! Haven’t seen you in a minute. Come on in, you can grab some soda from the fridge while I go grab Richie.” Wentworth Tozier opened the screen door for Eddie, who entered with a smile as Went went up the stairs, presumably to “grab Richie.” Eddie, meanwhile, was thirsty from the hot August walk over, so he did as Wentworth had said and got a Tab from the fridge before sitting on a stool at the kitchen island to drink it. 

There was a sudden _thump, thump, thump_ ing from the stairs, which Eddie knew meant that Richie was running down them at top speed. Eddie stood up and set his soda down as Richie barrelled into the kitchen, straight into his friend, who had been prepared for this tackling and thus stood his ground.

“Eds! I thought you were grounded forever! It’s only been a week, how did you get out?” Richie said as he clung tightly to his friend. Eddie understood why. After they had all almost died, it was a terror in itself to be away from any of his friends. They all had fears that it wasn’t actually over. Eddie hugged Richie back even more tightly, for he knew now that their fears were justified.

“Ma said I could go out and see one of my friends,” Eddie said before pulling away from the hug to whisper to Richie. “But she told me not to see you. She thinks I’m seeing Bill.” He grinned at Richie, who grinned back. He suddenly put on a stern look, however. “And don’t call me Eds.” This only caused Richie’s grin to widen as he reached up to ruffle his hair.

“Sure thing, Spaghetti-O,” he said amidst Eddie’s protests. 

“Let’s go to the backyard, I gotta tell you something,” Eddie said, not waiting for an answer as he took hold of Richie’s arm and dragged his friend out the backdoor. Richie went with him without a fuss, despite asking why they needed to go outside. “I don’t want anyone to hear us,” was Eddie’s reply.

“Wow Eddie, if we’re doing _that,_ I woulda thought you’d wanna do it in the bedroom. Outside can be very unsanitary,” Richie quipped, earning him a _shut the fuck up, Richie,_ from Eddie. 

Once outside, Eddie sat down at the table on the back porch, pushing Richie into the seat next to him.

“Woah, what’s got you so aggressive? I kinda like it,” Richie said, in an obnoxious, suggestive way that made Eddie’s cheeks flush a light pink.

“Richie, you have to promise not to laugh. Fucking promise me,” Eddie said, glaring into Richie’s eyes. Richie blinked in the face of Eddie’s seriousness.

“Jeez, okay, I won’t laugh,” Richie said, pushing up his glasses and looking seriously back at Eddie in preparation for whatever he was about to say. Eddie took a deep breath.

“My mom is dating Pennywise.”

There was a long stretch of silence in which Richie merely stared at Eddie, then--

“I thought you said I’m not supposed to laugh.”

“You’re not!” Eddie exclaimed indignantly. “I’m serious!” Richie’s eyebrows were past his hairline.

“So… you’re not joking?” he asked, and Eddie could tell he was trying to wrap his head around this startling piece of news. Hell, Eddie was still trying to wrap his own head around it.

“No!” Eddie whisper-screeched. “ _It,_ Richie! _It was at my house yesterday!_ My mom fucking introduced me to It!”

“Your mom… is dating… the clown.”

“Yes!”

Richie was silent again for a while, looking at the ground with a frown on his face, his fist clenched.

“Richie,” Eddie said, scooting closer to his friend, looking to be a comfort after delivering this devastating news.

“There’s no other way, I have to do it,” Richie said, quietly.

“Have to do what, Richie?” Eddie asked, his voice soft and somewhat scared.

“If I have to put on big shoes and a red nose to win her back then so be it.”

Eddie’s expression immediately turned sour.

“I’m being fucking serious, Richie!” he yelled. “It’s doing this to me as some sort of weird, stupid trick! It tricked my mom into fucking dating It so It could get to me!” Richie looked at him in confusion, a sense of dread making hints of itself known all over his face.

“Wait, you’re being serious?”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Eddie threw his hands into the air in frustration. Richie stared at him again, this time in horror.

“ _It’s back?_ ” he whisper-shrieked. “I thought It left!”

“Apparently fucking not,” Eddie said, before leaning over and putting his head in his hands. 

“Shit, uh,” Richie scooted closer to Eddie, placing an awkward hand on his shoulder. “Do the others know?” Eddie shook his head.

“You’re the first one I told.”

“Well we gotta tell them!” Richie shook Eddie’s shoulder a little.

“I’m not allowed to see more than one friend,” Eddie replied with a defeated sigh.

“You’re already breaking the rules just by seeing me,” Richie pointed out. “What’s the harm in seeing the rest of the Losers?” Eddie looked up at him, considering. “Besides,” Richie continued. “If anything is a Losers Emergency, this is.”

“You’re right,” Eddie conceded. With a small intake of breath, he stood up. “Fuck it, let’s go.”


	3. The Bike

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie and Richie get the Losers together to tell them the horrible news.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW  
> \- Internalized homophobia (implies, on Richie's part)  
> \- General Pennywise creepiness

“Why don’t you have these memorized?” Eddie asked, holding up the small notebook of phone numbers Richie had handed to him.

“You seriously have all the Losers’ phone numbers memorized?” Richie responded as he picked up the phone, preparing to dial as soon as Eddie read aloud the first number.

“And why isn’t my number in here?” Eddie raised an eyebrow at Richie.

“Your phone number is under my pillow, so I can call your mom,” Richie said without missing a beat, causing Eddie to swat at his arm with the notebook.

“Fuck you. Alright, here’s Bill’s number.”

Eddie read the phone numbers to Richie as one by one, they called the Losers and told them to meet at the clubhouse as soon as possible. They only had to call four numbers, since Beverly was currently staying at Mike’s place while she figured out where she was going to live next. She couldn’t go back to living with her father, after all. When Mike had explained Beverly’s situation, his grandfather had been more than happy to allow Beverly to stay at the farm until she sorted her stuff out.

After calling the Losers, Richie grabbed his bike from the garage and they set off back to the Kaspbrak residence to get Eddie’s bike. Then they would ride out to the woods together. They talked and joked and teased as they walked, but as they approached the house, Richie stopped in his tracks, looking dead ahead. Eddie, who had been gazing at Richie while they talked and not paying attention to where they were walking, looked around to see what he was gawking at.

“Holy shit,” Richie said.

At his words, Its head snapped towards them with inhuman speed, twisting farther than any neck should be able to go. It was leaning over something that Eddie couldn’t see, that he thought he didn’t  _ want  _ to see. What if it was a body? What if it was the leper? What if It had done something to his mom and she was the one laying there underneath the hideous form of the clown? 

“Oh-ho-ho,  _ Eddie, _ ” It said with a giggle, Its head still twisted at that impossible angle. “Come here, I’ve got something to show ya!”

Eddie began to walk forward, but Richie grabbed his arm.

“Are you fucking insane? You can’t go over there!” Richie whisper-yelled.

“I’m not afraid of It, Richie,” Eddie said, though his heart was pounding, both from Its presence and, ridiculously, Richie’s touch on his arm. “The only way we can win is by not being afraid. That’s what It wants, It wants us to be scared. Well, I’m not.” He gently yanked his arm away from Richie and started walking again, as the clown goaded him towards Itself.

“That’s it, Eddie, just a little closer,” It cooed. 

“ _ Fuck, _ ” Eddie heard Richie say behind him, and then the unmistakable sound of Richie’s footsteps, walking with Eddie to what might be their doom.

When they were about six feet away, Pennywise whirled around to face them, bringing the thing It had been crouching over with It. Eddie jumped and stopped walking when It did this, his heart rate speeding up once more from the suddenness of the movement. Pennywise was holding his bike. But… it looked brand new. It was sleek and shiny. The yellow bit on the side looked like it had been newly painted. The tires were new as well, and pumped up to full size. The seat no longer looked worn down; in fact, it was as shiny and new as the rest of the bike, looking like it had never been sat on before.

“Woah,” said Richie. Its eyes snapped up towards him, and a smile appeared on Its face that was just a bit too wide to be comforting. 

“Hi Richie,” It said. “Better not let my lovely Sonia see you! She thinks you’re a corrupting influence on her dear, sweet Eddie.” Eddie shuddered when It called his mother “lovely.” Its eyes snapped back over to him at his shudder. “Whaddya say, Eddie? Begins with a T, ends with a you! And that’s not all you have to thank me for!” Eddie narrowed his eyes at It.

“What do you mean?” he asked, warily. It raised a finger to wag at him, tauntingly.

“I know you’re not supposed to be with Richie Rich! You’re supposed to be at Big Billy’s house aint’cha?” 

Eddie flushed.  _ Shit,  _ was It going to tell his mom on him? He was honestly a little more scared of her than he was of It at this point. He would be stuck in his room until school started again if she found out he was hanging out with Richie, stuck with only Sonia and fucking Pennywise for company. One of his fears was that she would find out Richie has been climbing in through his window a few nights a week, and then she would put bars on it or something. 

Pennywise seemed to sense Eddie’s fear, and It breathed it in, licking Its lips over Its sharp teeth. Richie subtly grabbed Eddie’s arm, and Eddie realized his wasn’t the only fear It was feeding off of. 

“Are… are you going to tell her?” Eddie asked, trying to be brave. He didn’t feel brave.

“We’re friends, aren’t we Eddie?” It said. “Friends keep secrets!” It lifted a finger to Its enormous mouth and made a shushing sound. 

“Can I have my bike then?” Eddie attempted to keep his voice from shaking. Pennywise merely looked at him, expectantly. Eddie swallowed a lump in his throat. “Thank you,” he muttered. Pennywise grinned and handed over the bike.

It stood up, towering over the two boys. Its body turned around, but Its head stayed looking at them. The head twisted back to face the same way as the rest of Its body, however, when It began walking towards the house, Its arms and legs lurching as It went. Finally, It opened the door of the house and went inside, turning back around once more to grin at Eddie and Richie before disappearing into the darkness of the house, and closing the door.

Eddie dropped the bike and turned to face Richie, who was still staring frozen at the place It had disappeared. 

“Eds, holy shit,” Richie said, but his words came out breathy, as though he hadn’t quite found his voice. “Holy shit, Eds. Holy shit.” He repeated the words, his hand still gripping Eddie’s arm. Eddie himself was shaking, and the only thing he could think to do was hug Richie, burying his face in his shoulder. He felt Richie let go of his arm in favor of wrapping his arms around Eddie, holding him close. 

“I don’t think I can do this, Richie,” Eddie said, his voice muffled by Richie’s shoulder. “I thought we stopped it.” 

“I thought so, too,” Richie said, and Eddie felt his face press into the top of his head. Suddenly, however, Richie tensed up and abruptly let go of Eddie, stepping away from him. Eddie looked up to ask what was the matter, put out by the loss of Richie’s warmth, but Richie was staring past him. Eddie turned around and saw It peeking through the curtains of the window, smiling… at Richie, who had flushed a deep red. “Come on, let’s get the fuck out of here,” Richie said, tearing his eyes away from the window. Eddie looked at Richie, then back at the window, only to find that It had gone. He looked back at Richie again, who was scowling at the ground, his face still full of color. Eddie picked up his new-looking bike and walked with Richie over to where his bike lay. 

“You okay?” Eddie asked as Richie picked up his bike.

“I’m fine, let’s just go,” Richie replied, not looking at Eddie. Eddie frowned, but didn’t press the issue as they both got onto their bikes. They all had their own issues with It, but something about what Richie had seen in the window made him stop hugging Eddie and step back, with that  _ look  _ on his face. He looked… ashamed. 

“Woah, Eddie, did you get a new b-bike?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Eddie said to Bill as they met up with him at the edge of the woods. Bill furrowed his brow, but shrugged.

“It looks n-nice, ” he said, to which Eddie replied with a muttered  _ thanks.  _ “The o-others are probably already at the cuh-cl-clubhouse.” Bill gestured to the other bikes that were laying in the grass, and one that was upright with the kickstand pushed down (Stan’s). The three of them deposited their bikes on the ground as well before heading into the woods. As they walked, Bill kept eyeing Richie, and Eddie knew it was because Richie was being uncharacteristically quiet. Bill said nothing, though, and they pressed on. 

They climbed down into the clubhouse and were met with greetings from Stan, Ben, Mike, and Beverly. Bill greeted them back and Eddie smiled at them, but Richie just made a beeline for the hammock. Eddie didn’t fight him for it and let him have it. It being back was clearly taking a toll on him, and Eddie, knowing his friend, knew he needed his space for a bit.

“So what’s up, Eddie? Richie said you guys have news,” said Bev, who was leaning against a nearby pillar, crossing her arms and smiling. She seemed excited. Eddie couldn’t imagine what  _ good  _ news she was imagining he and Richie had. He took a deep breath.

“This… is going to come as a shock,” he said. 

“I’m sure it isn’t, but go on,” said Stan, with a seemingly knowing smile upon his face. Eddie couldn’t figure out what the hell he thought he  _ knew.  _

“Let him tell us, Stan,” said Ben, who was also smiling that pure smile of his. 

“It’s okay, Eddie,” Mike reassured.  _ What was okay? Nothing was okay! _ Richie was still silent. As Eddie thought about his situation, and how to word it, his lip trembled and he turned away, shaking a bit.

“It’s not okay,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut. He felt soft arms encircle him from behind, and then Bev’s voice was in his ear.

“It is okay, Eddie. We love you and Richie no matter what,” she said. This finally caused Richie to look up and speak.

“Wait, what do you think the news is?” Richie asked, frowning.

“It’s back,” said Eddie, his voice just loud enough to carry through the clubhouse. Bev’s arms tensed around him.

“What?” she whispered, her voice sounding a bit shrill and panicked.

“It’s back, Bev,” Eddie repeated, disentangling himself from her arms and turning around to face them again. 

“But--” Stan spluttered, his eyes wide with fear.

“How? I thought we had another 27 years before It would come back!” exclaimed Mike. 

“I don’t know,” said Eddie with a resounding sigh. He was tired, tired of fighting It, tired of being scared. “But that’s not even the worst fucking part.” He squeezed his fists at his sides, looking pointedly at the ground. “It’s not living underground anymore. It’s… It’s dating my mom.”

Astounded silence filled the clubhouse. Finally, Bill laughed, nervously.

“G-Good one, Eddie,” he said, an anxious smile on his face.

“I already went over this with Richie,” said Eddie, getting frustrated. “I’m not fucking joking!”

“Woah, okay,” said Mike, raising his hands in front of him, trying to calm Eddie down. “You’re not joking. What would It want with your mom?” Thank fuck, Mike believed him. The others were all looking at him seriously, indicating that they, despite the ridiculousness of the situation, believed him too.

“To get at me, obviously!” asserted Eddie, turning around and beginning to pace back and forth in brisk, short movements. “First I had to shake Its hand, then It fixed up my fucking bike for some reason--”

“So that’s what happened to your b-bike,” said Bill, his expression solemn.

“It’s acting like It’s trying to win me over or something! But it has to be a trap, it just has to be!”

“Obviously,” said Mike, looking like he was trying to formulate a plan. “We have to end It, somehow. We should go to the library. Also, none of us should go out alone. We should have a buddy system.” Everyone nodded, and Mike continued. “And, we should keep Eddie out of his house as much as possible, since that’s where It is likely to be.”

“That might be tough, seeing as I’m still technically grounded,” said Eddie with a grimace. “I was lucky I managed to get away from her at all. And It. Also It.” He cleared his throat, noting Bill’s worried look towards him. He really didn’t want to talk about his mommy issues right now, though.

“I can go there, to Eddie’s house.” Eddie looked over at Richie in time to see him visibly swallow a lump in his throat. “So he… so he doesn’t have to be alone. I’ll go as often as I can.” Eddie’s heart swelled with affection. He knew how It affected Richie, but Richie was willing to risk running into It again, all for Eddie’s sake. “I can sneak in at night, when his mom is asleep,” Richie continued.

“But what about during the day?” asked Ben.

“Ma might let Bill come over,” said Eddie, remembering what his mother had said that morning about how Bill seemed like a nice boy.

“Oooo, Mrs. K likes you, Bill,” cooed Richie, causing Bill to roll his eyes. Eddie was just glad Richie was comfortable enough to joke again. “Hopefully not as much as she likes me,” he went on. “And apparently not as much as she likes the clo--”

“Beep beep,” came several voices from around the clubhouse. 

“That s-settles it, then,” said Bill, looking around at everyone, his eyes finally landing back on Eddie. “I’ll t-try to go over to Eddie’s house when he has to s-stay in there during the day. It’ll be just like old times, r-right, Eddie?” Bill smiled at him, and Eddie smiled back gratefully, remembering the days when Bill was his only friend and would come over to his house almost every day to play with him when his mother wouldn’t let him out for fear of him catching something. 

“For the rest of today, though,” said Eddie. “Can we just… hang out? I don’t want to go home until I absolutely have to.”

“Of course, Eddie!” said Bev, offering a smile, which he returned.

“Hey Eddie, d-do you think you might be able to g-get out for a sleepover sometime this week? W-We’ll have it at my place, so your m-mom thinks it’s just us, but really it’ll be everyone,” said Bill, his face splitting into a small grin. Eddie smiled wider.

“I’ll definitely try!” he said. Now, he felt, it was time to go bother Richie in the hammock like he usually did. “Move it, asshole,” he said as he approached.

“No.”

Perfect. Just as he had planned.

Eddie maneuvered himself into the hammock opposite Richie, who protested and tried to kick him. Eddie merely laughed and kicked him back, which started a small kick fight between the two of them, which Eddie thoroughly enjoyed, though he would never actually tell Richie that. For now, he didn’t have to think about It, though he saw out of the corner of his eye the morose looks on Mike’s and Bill’s faces. For now, though, he was okay.


	4. B-B-Batman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bill comes over to spend the day at Eddie's house in order to support him amidst the constant threat of Pennywise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW:  
> -Sonia has an Outburst that's Hella emotional abuse  
> -Pennywise makes an implicitly homophobic offhand comment  
> -Eddie has another panic attack that his mom solves with drugs :/
> 
> Don't worry though I put some Soft Stuff in this chapter too to balance it out

“Hi, Mrs. K. I know Eddie is g-grounded and all, but I was hoping I could come in and s-see him?” 

Eddie had come downstairs at the sound of the doorbell, to find his mother had opened the door to Bill.

“I brought some b-b-bran muffins, I know they’re really h-healthy,” Eddie heard Bill say.  _ Bill you fucking genius, Ma goes nuts for bran muffins. _ And, sure enough--

“Oh you sweet boy. Come in!”

Sonia Kasbrak stepped to the side to reveal Bill, who walked into the house. He soon stopped in his tracks, however, staring at something in the living room. Eddie’s heart sank. He knew what that  _ something  _ probably was.

“Pennywise, this is Bill, one of Eddie’s little friends!” Sonia said as she turned to It. 

“Hiya Billy,” It said, stepping forward into Eddie’s view and towering over Bill, who bravely stood his ground. “I’m Pennywise, the dancing clown!”

“I kn-know who you are,” said Bill, glaring up at the clown.

“I’ll take these bran muffins,” said Sonia, taking the tupperware from Bill. “And go make us some tea to have with them, how does that sound?” With that, she left, a jolly expression on her face.

Eddie came the rest of the way down the stairs and stood, reluctantly, next to It as he looked at Bill.

“Hey, Bill,” he said, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. He watched Bill tear his eyes away from It and land them on Eddie.

“E-Eddie,” he said. “Do you wanna go u-upstairs?” Eddie nodded and moved out of the way so Bill could go ahead of him. He did so, glancing over his shoulder at It as he went. Eddie turned to follow him, but felt a cold, dead hand grip his shoulder. His heart rate sped up at the same time as his breathing.

“You don’t want to go upstairs just yet,” It said. “Oh no, you don’t!” Eddie saw Bill look back over his shoulder at It, standing behind Eddie, his eyes wide with fear.

“Why not?” Eddie asked, his voice trembling only slightly. The grip tightened, as though It was a tiger pinning down its prey. 

“Sonia’s making tea!” It cooed. “You boys better get to the dining room so we can have Billy’s delicious bran muffins!”

“D-Do you even eat h-human food?” Bill asked. Eddie felt a cold creeping over his body starting at his shoulder, and he got the feeling that It was getting closer to him. He could feel Its rattling breath on the back of his neck.

“I… devour… all…”

Eddie shuddered violently and tore himself away from It, effectively crashing into Bill, who thankfully caught Eddie and held him upright. 

“Careful, Eddie-bear!” It said with a giggle. “Don’t want mommy to send Billy home for endangering her son… in more ways than one.” Eddie’s breath hitched. With the way Bill was holding him, he thought he knew that It wasn’t only talking about his fall. Looking up into Bill’s face, it didn’t look like Bill had gotten it, however, because he just looked confused. Eddie regained his footing and stepped away from Bill. He turned around to face It only to see It backing away from them, though Its legs weren’t moving, and neither were Its feet. As It disappeared into the dining room, it raised a finger and waggled it in a motion that clearly said  _ come here.  _

“What was It t-talking about? In more ways than o-one?” Bill asked after It had vanished. Eddie shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter,” he said, before groaning. “Now I really don’t want to go into the dining room. But…”

“But what? L-Let’s go ups-stairs!” Bill said, as though that were the most obvious course of action to take. 

“Ma’s making tea,” Eddie explained, tiredly.

“So?” Bill asked. Eddie stared at him. What did he mean,  _ so?  _

“So we have to go drink it,” he said, as though  _ that _ was the most obvious thing in the world. “And eat the muffins, that  _ you  _ brought.”

“I don’t care if we don’t eat the m-muffins,” Bill said with a shrug. Eddie gaped at him, unaware of how to explain to Bill that that was absolutely not the point. 

“You don’t understand!” Eddie’s voice was shrill, but breathy, through his attempts to keep quiet. Bill’s eyes widened in alarm at Eddie’s tone. “If we don’t go and drink the stupid fucking tea then Ma is gonna be upset!” Eddie was working himself up, his breaths getting short at the prospect of making his mother upset with him. What if she screamed at him in front of Bill? Or worse, made Bill leave and never see Eddie again?

Bill placed his hands on Eddie’s shoulders to try and calm him down.

“Woah, Eddie, it’s okay. We’ll go eat the m-muffins and drink the tea. O-okay?” Eddie nodded.

“I’m sorry,” he said, trying to get his breathing under control, his hand itching to grab his inhaler even though he knew it didn’t actually do anything. He vaguely wondered what was actually in his inhaler. Maybe battery acid? “I just,” he said as Bill nodded along with him. “I can’t, make her get upset.”

“R-Right, totally,” Bill said, though he still looked confused and alarmed. “I u-understand.” Eddie was suspicious that Bill wasn’t telling the complete truth, but he was comforted nonetheless. 

A few minutes later they were at the dining room table, Eddie’s leg fidgeting even faster than normal, and Bill staring down at the tablecloth. It was sat across from them, and Eddie could feel Its eyes boring into the top of his head, as he stared down at his own lap. Eddie could just tell that it was grinning maniacally, evilly. 

“Here’s the tea!” came Sonia’s sing-song voice as she brought the ugly cat-shaped teapot to the table. Eddie saw Bill look up at it with a bemused expression and he blushed a bit in embarrassment. Bill was probably going to tease him about the stupid teapot later.

“Thank you, Mrs. K-Kaspbrak,” Bill said with an uncomfortable smile as Sonia poured him tea. Eddie merely nodded at his mother as she poured his, too anxious to speak much.

“What a wonderful friendship,” said Pennywise, Its voice eerily cheerful. Eddie looked reluctantly up at It, finding It to be staring at Bill. “Why, I would say Eddie is like a little brother to you, isn’t he Billy?” Eddie heard the legs of the chair beside his screech across the floor and he looked around just in time to see Bill stand up, his grip white against the table cloth, his eyes full of hellfire. 

“Eddie,” came Sonia’s cold voice, cutting off whatever Bill was about to say or do. Eddie’s head whipped around, his heart beating faster at her tone, Pennywise fleeing his mind entirely. No one existed except for him and his mother.

She wasn’t even looking at him, instead stirring her tea.

“Do you not want tea?”

“What?” Eddie asked, fearful of where this was going. “No, I’m drinking it!” To prove it, he took a sip of the tea and smiled at his mother, trying in vain to quell his fear.

“Then why didn’t you thank Mommy?” Her voice shook.  _ Oh no.  _ “I do everything for you, Eddie, and I just feel like you don’t appreciate--” She looked up at him now, her eyes full of tears. “Aren’t you grateful?” she shrieked through her tears. Eddie was frozen in place like a deer caught in headlights, but the car wasn’t stopping. He could feel his eyes welling up with tears of his own.

“Mommy--”

“Why are you looking at me like that, Eddie, I’m not the bad guy!” she wailed. 

“Mommy, please--” 

“I just wish you appreciated how hard I work for you!” She looked imploringly at Eddie, who felt like running, but knew he wouldn’t be able to.

“I do appreciate you, Mommy. I do,” he said, his voice cracking from fear and despair. “Thank you for the tea, Mommy…” His mother sniffled and gave him a small smile.

“Come over here and hug Mommy, Eddie bear.” 

Eddie wasted no time in getting up and hurrying over to hug his mother, who accepted his embrace with open arms.

“I’m sorry, Mommy,” he mumbled.

“Mommy forgives you. Now have you said thank you to Bill for bringing the muffins?”

Bill was still standing there, looking shell-shocked at what he had just witnessed. Eddie straightened up and took one look at Bill’s expression before looking back at the ground, ashamed of what had happened, mortified. What Bill must think of him now…

“Thank you, Bill,” he said, quietly. Bill nodded and slowly sat down, not saying a word.

The rest of teatime was quiet. Neither Eddie nor Bill felt like speaking, and Sonia seemed to enjoy the silence. At some point, Eddie chanced a glance up at Pennywise, and was surprised to see the expression on Its face. It looked… confused.

Bill and Eddie didn’t speak again until they had reached Eddie’s room, Eddie going in first and Bill shutting the door behind them.

“Eddie,” said Bill, and  _ fuck  _ Eddie hated that tone of voice. “Are you o-okay?”

“I’m fine,” Eddie replied quickly, turning around to look at Bill. The expression on Bill’s face matched his tone, and Eddie’s insides curdled. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Can I h-hug you?”

“I don’t need a pity hug, Bill.”

“I don’t want to h-hug you out of p-pity,” said Bill, stepping closer. “I want to hug you because you’re my f-friend and I like h-hugging you.” He offered Eddie a smile. Eddie hesitated. “That’s what you said to me after G-G-Georgie went missing, remember?” Eddie gave Bill a small smile back, then closed the distance between them and faceplanted into Bill’s shoulder with a groan. Bill chuckled and brought his arms up to hug his friend. “So what do you want to d-do now?” he asked.

“Can we read comics,” Eddie mumbled into Bill’s shoulder. Bill gasped.

“That reminds me! I also brought the new B-B-Batman!” Eddie jumped up in excitement.

“You got it?” he screeched. 

“I didn’t r-read it yet because I was w-waiting to read it with you when I c-came over!” Bill grinned at Eddie, who grinned back.

“Oh my god, Bill, you’re the fucking best.”

Eddie lounged on the bed while Bill sat on the floor, taking turns flipping through Bill’s new comic and rereading old ones of Eddies, hours passing by without either of them noticing, and before they knew it, Sonia was coming into the room to tell them that it was time for Bill to go home. Eddie wished she would knock sometimes. 

He walked Bill down to the front door and said good-bye, with Bill leaning in to reassure him that Richie would be here for the night shift soon.

As soon as the door shut, Eddie felt cold breath on the back of his neck and he froze.

“You are afraid of me, Eddie,” It said, Its voice trembling and wheezy. “But you’re more afraid of  _ her _ .” If anything, It sounded bitter.

Eddie turned around to find nothing there. The only thing in his ears was the pounding of his own heart.

Eddie only had to open the door to his room, however, to start freaking out. The leper, in all its deformity, was on his bed, writhing around in his sheets. As he entered, it whipped its head over to Eddie and grinned, showing all of its rotted teeth. 

“Blow ya for a nickel, Eddie!”

Eddie yelled as he immediately turned around to sprint out of his room, only to run into his mother, who pushed him back inside. 

“Eddie bear, what’s the matter with you?” she yelled in alarm. Eddie only started freaking out more at the realization that he was now effectively stuck between a rock and a hard place: his mother, blocking the door, and the leper, on his bed, which his mother apparently couldn’t see.

“Mommy, please, I have to get out--”

“I know what you need, baby, come on.” Eddie, unable to think clearly, protested with more yells as his mother grabbed hold of his arm and started dragging him out of his room and into the bathroom. He only quieted down when she shoved a couple of horrible-tasting pills into his mouth, followed by forcing some water down his throat. He choked, but managed to get it down. “You’re going to be in your room until you can calm down,” she said, taking hold of Eddie’s arm again. Eddie protested once more.

“No, no I don’t want to! No!” 

“You’ll calm down soon enough.”

“No--” Eddie fell silent as he was forcibly shoved back into his room, his mother right behind him to ensure he didn’t run out again. The leper was gone, his bed as empty and clean as it always was. There was the subtle air of disappointment lingering, and Eddie couldn’t tell where it was coming from. 

“Nothing’s in here, Eddie bear. I don’t know what got you so upset.” Sonia clicked her tongue at him, and Eddie gulped as he went further into the room, glancing at every corner, every shadow. His heart was still pounding like a drum in his ears. “It’s time for bed, then,” said Sonia. “I know it’s early, but… you’ll be sleepy soon anyways. Can you get ready by yourself or do you want Mommy to help you?”

“I can do it by myself,” Eddie said, his voice hoarse from yelling. 

“There’s a good boy. I love you.”

“I love you too, Mommy,” he said flatly as she left the room, leaving him alone with his thoughts and whatever else happened to be lurking.

Twenty minutes later saw Eddie in bed with his pajamas on, staring at the opposite wall, when he heard a tap on his window. Looking around, his heart warmed to see the familiar bespectacled face of his best friend. He got up and groggily crossed to the window to open it, letting Richie maneuver himself inside.

“Did someone order a big dick?” he said as he landed on the carpet. Eddie merely scoffed.

“Shut the fuck up, Richie,” he said, though his words had no bite to them like they usually did. Richie seemed to notice, as he looked at Eddie with nervousness creeping into his features.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Eddie said, going back over to sit down on his bed. His legs were too exhausted to carry him much more. “How… how long can you stay for?” He looked up at Richie, trying not to appear too hopeful. Richie shrugged.

“What time does your mom come to check on you in the morning usually?”

“She comes in if I haven’t shown up downstairs by eleven definitely,” Eddie replied, making room for Richie to sit on the bed beside him. He did so, and nudged Eddie with his shoulder.

“So I can stay all night.” He grinned. Eddie blushed and smiled back, though there wasn’t as much light behind his eyes. Richie noticed this, as well. “Eds, you know you can tell me shit. What’s wrong?”

“Don’t call me Eds.”

“Eddie.” He looked pointedly at Eddie, who rolled his eyes and sighed.

“It’s been a long day… And my mom made me take some medication that’s making me… weird.”

“I thought you said your medications were placebos,” Richie said, frowning at Eddie, who shook his head.

“This one’s not. It’s to help me calm down. She makes me take it when I’m… like, freaking out or something.”

“Like…” Richie hesitated. “Like she forces you to take it?” Eddie shifted uncomfortably.

“Well… I mean, kind of.”

“It’s a yes or no question, Eds.”

“Okay!” Eddie exclaimed defensively, causing Richie to put up his hands in surrender. Eddie sighed. “Sorry. Just… Yeah sometimes she forces me. But it’s for my own good. It stops me from freaking out…”

“Dude, you live with a killer clown. Freaking out might be the thing that saves your life.” 

Eddie shrugged at Richie’s words. 

“Maybe… it makes me sleepy…” And to prove it, he yawned. 

“You wanna sleep?”

“Sorry, Rich,” Eddie said, guiltily. “I know you probably wanted to like, do something…”

“Like what?” Richie asked with a chuckle.

“I don’t know,” Eddie shook his head. “Just fucking, something. Fuck off,” he said at Richie’s laughter.

“You can sleep if you want to, Spaghetti. I’ll just be here, twiddling my thumbs.” Richie grinned as Eddie rolled his eyes and moved to lay down, burrowing under the covers.

“Will you sleep with me, Rich?” he asked, looking up at his friend.

“Hey, at least let me take you to dinner first--”

“Richie.” Eddie glared at him. If he didn’t know better, he would say that Richie’s face looked a little red. Nevertheless, however, he smiled.

“Sure thing, Eds,” he said as he laid down next to him. Eddie immediately moved to drape himself across Richie without really thinking about what he was doing. From his new position where his head rested on Richie’s chest, he heard Richie’s heartbeat quicken. “Uh, Eddie. What are you--”

“Shut up Richie, I’m high.”

“Oh…” Richie paused. “The medicine makes you high?”

“Well… no,” Eddie replied. “But it makes me tired and stupid, so. Fuck off.” He felt the vibrations of Richie’s chuckle beneath him. 

“Whatever you say, Eddie Spaghetti.”

Eddie smiled against Richie’s chest, even as his eyes caught something unsettling, coming in and out of focus from the dark corner of his room. Eyes, just a pair of glowing eyes, were staring at them, watching them. Eddie was too tired to pay them much mind, however, so he closed his eyes so he wouldn’t see them anymore.

As he was drifting off to sleep, he could have sworn he felt someone kiss the top of his head. It was probably a dream, though. A lovely dream.


	5. Sparkling Cider and Killer Klowns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie convinces his mom to let him go to a sleepover at Bill's house!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for implied racism because Bev's dad is a POS

Eddie woke up to find that he had rolled over in his sleep. This in itself wasn’t remarkable in the slightest. What was, however, was that he was enveloped in a warmth that was very much not his blanket. Richie’s arms were wrapped tightly around him as though he were an especially large teddy bear, and he was snoring gently behind where Eddie lay. Realizing this, a warm giddiness spread from Eddie’s chest all over his body and he couldn’t help but smile. He placed his hand over Richie’s where it was clutched against his chest and idly ran his fingers over the other boy’s knuckles, reveling in their closeness. After about a minute of doing this, he settled for merely holding Richie’s hand, leaning his head back a bit to try and nuzzle him. He did these things without really thinking about his reasoning behind them, though he knew. He knew in his heart why he was doing this, and why he felt this way, but it was too scary to say out loud just yet. This… this was perfect, because Richie was asleep, and therefore it wasn’t that scary anymore to feel this way in his vicinity. 

Coming in and out of focus from the corner of the room that Eddie could see were the eyes again, the same ones that he had seen last night. Except that now they were attached to a cartoon clown on the side of a box, covered in dirt and grime, with a handle on the side. Eddie knew what was going to happen before it did, but he couldn’t bring himself to care very much. Just as he was rolling over to face Richie instead of the box, he heard it spring open, a high-pitched laughter filling the room. Richie jerked awake, his grip on Eddie tightening.

“Whathefuckisthat!” he yelled, his words slurring together in grogginess from having been abruptly woken up.

“Ignore it,” Eddie said, now facing Richie. “It put it there to scare us. Don’t look at it.” Richie’s eyes moved to meet Eddie’s instead of looking at whatever had come out of the jack-in-the-box, and at that moment Eddie realized how close they were. His breath hitched as he could have sworn he saw Richie’s eyes flicker momentarily down to his lips. An unexpected impulse told him to close the distance between them and kiss Richie right then and there. Before he could decide whether or not to act on this idea, however, Richie sat up, the warmth of his arms retracting, leaving Eddie cold. Eddie sat up as well and glanced back at the corner. The jack-in-the-box was gone, but this time he couldn’t tell if the air of disappointment that was present in the room was actually his own. 

“I should probably get going soon,” said Richie, grabbing his glasses from the nightstand and putting them on. “It’s already past ten. You said your mom will check on you around eleven right?”

“Right… yeah,” Eddie said, saddened that Richie had to leave, though he was sure he would see him again soon. 

“Bill wants to do the sleepover tonight, you think you can convince your mom?” Richie asked. He wasn’t looking at Eddie. Eddie always wanted Richie to look at him. 

“I’ll try,” Eddie said, offering a smile to the face that was turned away from him. Thankfully, Richie turned back to look at him now, smiling as well. 

“Either way, I’ll see you tonight, Eds.” He stood up. He had gotten his shoes on while he had been turned away from Eddie. Eddie stood up from the bed as well as Richie went over to the window. He was about to leave when Eddie grabbed his sleeve. Richie paused, looking back at his friend. Eddie blanched for a second, having had no plan to this action.

“I’ll uh… I’ll see you tonight,” he said, before leaning forward to place a chaste kiss on Richie’s cheek. He pulled back to see a look of shock and confusion on Richie’s face. Upon searching Richie’s expression, however, Eddie could find no disgust, to his relief. 

“What--”

“Don’t think about it too hard, Rich, or you’ll hurt yourself. Also, don’t call me Eds.” Eddie was sure his face was scarlet, though it was a small comfort to see that Richie’s face was bright red, too. Richie, for his part, continued to just stand there, staring dumbfounded at Eddie, who laughed nervously and pushed his chest lightly. “Go! Before my mom catches you!” At this, Richie climbed out of the window, to which Eddie was both thankful and regretful. But, he reminded himself, at least he would see him tonight.

“You know Eddie, it sure would be real nice of ya to talk to me.”

Silence from Eddie.

“Eddie bear.”

“Don’t you fucking call me that, you piece of shit!”

“Watch your language, Eddie.”

“Fine. Don’t you freaking call me that… you piece of shit…”

He was in the car with Pennywise, and the only thing that was getting him through this car ride was the fact that they were on the way to Bill’s house for the sleepover he had somehow convinced his mother to let him go to.

It tried to make small talk with Eddie the entire way to Bill’s house, which was arguably the most excruciating experience of Eddie’s life, including when he had broken his arm.

“So how’s school?” It asked in that tone of voice that was dripping with mockery. 

“It’s summer,” Eddie replied, drily. 

“You excited to see all your friends tonight?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmmm. You told Sonia you were only seeing Billy. Tut tut…”

_ Shit. _

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Mommy on little Eddie.”

Silence enveloped the car. Then…

“Like any girls? That Bevvie is really--”

“No.”

“How about any boys?”

“Shut up.” Eddie wasn’t looking at Pennywise but he could practically feel the grin.

“O ho ho… So many secrets we’re keeping from Sonia! Don’t worry Eddie, I’ll keep my lips shut tight!”

Eddie scowled against the window.

“So… is it Richie?”

“Stop it.”

Eddie thanked every deity of every religion that this was the moment that the car pulled up in Bill’s driveway. As he was about to get out of the car however, It stopped him.

“You forgot your party hat, Eddie!” It grabbed him, yanking him back so It could force a party hat on his head. Eddie glared at It and said nothing before getting out of the car, wanting to put as much space between him and It as possible.

Bill answered the door a few seconds after Eddie rang the bell, his eyes immediately landing above Eddie’s head.

“You’re wearing a p-party hat,” he said, more of a question than a statement. 

“Shit,” Eddie exclaimed. He had forgotten to take the damned thing off. He tore it off his head, scowling. “It made me wear it,” he explained to Bill, who was looking at him in amusement.

“Come on,” Bill said, holding his hand out for the party hat. Eddie gave it to him gladly. “Everyone is in the l-living room.”

Eddie followed Bill to the living room, where they first came upon Stan, sitting on one of two armchairs facing the television.

“Merry C-Christmas, Stan,” Bill said, depositing the party hat on top of him.

“It’s August and I’m Jewish, wh-- a party hat?” Stan picked up the hat that had fallen onto his lap.

“What’s up, guys?” Eddie asked, for as soon as he entered he had noticed the morose air in the room. Beverly was sat on the couch with her head in her hands. Ben, to her left, was comforting her, while Mike, to her right, was hunched over, a grave expression on his face. Richie didn’t appear to be here yet. 

Bev looked up at his words. She hadn’t been crying, but her face was contorted into a grimace.

“My dad…” She sighed, not seeming to want to speak. She turned to look at Mike, indicating for him to explain.

“He’s been stalking us,” Mike said. “Bev, me, and my grandpa. Trying to get Bev back. He’s trying to turn the town against us, stuff about how a girl like Bev shouldn’t be living with those… well, us.”

“Jesus,” said Eddie, stepping further into the room and putting down his bag. “What are you guys gonna do?”

“Grandpa stopped him from calling the police, so that’s good at least,” Mike continued. “I think Grandpa’s got some kind of dirt on him, otherwise he definitely would have called the cops and accused us of kidnapping. I don’t know what would have happened if he had done that…” 

“Dirt?” Eddie sat down next to the other armchair which Bill had plopped down in. Mike shrugged.

“Grandpa’s lived in Derry since Bev’s dad was a kid, so he knows a lot of shit. He probably has dirt on everybody in this town.” Eddie wondered vaguely if Mike’s grandpa had any dirt on his mom. She had lived in Derry a long time too, after all. 

“Mike’s grandpa has been so awesome about everything,” Bev chimed in, smiling at Mike gratefully, who offered a small smile in return. “I don’t know what I would have done if you guys hadn’t let me stay with you. I can’t…” She shook her head. “I couldn’t go back to him. I have no idea what he might have done to me…” Ben, who had been rubbing her shoulder, put his arm around her in a hug, and she leaned into him. Eddie silently wished he could stay with Mike too, instead of his mom. However, the town had a pretty good idea that Bev’s dad was a piece of shit, but they all thought his mom was a good person. He didn’t want Mike and his grandpa to face the town’s wrath if he tried to run away from his mother and live with them instead.

Just then the doorbell rang, and Eddie’s heart leapt. Bill got up and rushed over to the window to see who it was. 

“It’s R-Richie!” he said, resulting in a small cheer from the group. Bill hurried to the door and opened it, making room for their loudmouthed friend to come inside.

“What’s up, Losers?” Richie said as he strode in, brandishing what looked like a video tape in one hand and a fancy bottle in the other. “The party can officially start!”

“Richie, did you seriously bring alcohol?” Eddie asked, standing up.

“‘Tis sparkling apple cider, my dear,” Richie said in a dumb British accent as he walked over to put the things he was carrying down by the couch before sitting down next to them on the floor. Eddie went over to sit next to him. Looking around the room, everyone seemed in a much more cheerful mood now. Richie just had that effect on people. He also noted that Stan had put on the party hat.

“So what should we do?” Stan asked. “Now that the party’s started.” He smirked at Richie, who grinned back. Eddie shifted where he sat. He had had an idea since he first learned he would be able to come to the sleepover today. 

“Maybe we should play… truth or dare?” In the daydream he had been having all day, they played truth or dare and someone dared him to kiss Richie. So, Eddie thought, maybe it would happen in real life.

“No!” Richie exclaimed quickly. Everyone turned to look at him. His face was red. “Uh,” he said, swallowing nervously, trying to explain himself. “I brought a movie!” He held up the tape. Eddie, being next to him, read the title.

“Killer Klowns From Outer Space?” he asked incredulously. There was a collective groan from the room. 

“Seriously Richie?” Stan asked with a frown.

“Hey, I mean, I heard it was funny,” said Ben with a shrug. 

“Thank you, Benstopher!” Richie said. “Come on, guys! It’ll be a laugh!”

“Let’s watch it,” said Mike, and Bev nodded, a grin creeping its way onto her face.

“Yeah, maybe it’ll be fun!” she said.

“Why not?” said Bill with a small smile. Stan rolled his eyes.

“Fine,” he conceded. Eddie was uneasy as Richie put the tape in and started the movie. He apparently noticed Eddie’s expression as he went back to sit with him.

“You okay, Eds?” he asked, his voice a low whisper.

“Don’t call me that,” Eddie bit back, his expression unchanging. Richie sighed.

“Would it make you feel better if I held your hand?” he asked with a playful grin. Eddie couldn’t help the small smile that made its way across his face. He rolled his eyes.

“I think I’ll be okay, Rich.” Somehow feeling better, he looked up at the screen. 

They were a little ways through the movie and Eddie was actually enjoying himself. Ben had been right, it  _ was  _ funny, and it felt good to laugh about killer clowns instead of being scared of them for a change. He glanced over at Richie to see his reaction, however, and his face fell. Richie had taken his glasses off and was glancing away from the screen, his shoulders shaking a bit. Clearly, the movie was affecting Richie exactly how Eddie thought the movie would affect himself. 

Eddie reached over and took Richie’s hand in his own. Richie tensed up for a second, looking over at where Eddie’s hand was now on top of his, then up at Eddie’s face, his sympathetic eyes, before turning his hand over to clutch Eddie’s tightly. Eddie leaned in close to whisper to him.

“Do you wanna leave the room for a bit?” he asked. Richie said nothing, looking a bit ashamed of himself, but after a moment he nodded. Eddie stood up, pulling Richie up with him, before letting go of his hand and letting his friend lead the way. As they were passing the armchairs to leave the room, Stan spoke up.

“Where are you going?”

“Bathroom,” Eddie replied, hoping Stan would drop it. No such luck.

“Why are you going together?” Stan asked, suspiciously. Eddie turned to glare at him.

“You’re mom’s in there, Stan. We’re gonna have a threesome. Mind your fucking business.” This actually got a laugh out of Richie, who had stopped walking when Stan had spoken as well. Stan looked rightfully affronted, but thankfully didn’t respond, allowing Richie and Eddie to continue on and into the bathroom down the hall. 

“I can’t believe you said that to Stan,” Richie said, shaking with what Eddie hoped was laughter instead of anxiety, but very well could be both. They sat down together across from the toilet, leaning against the wall. Richie looked down at his lap, silent for a bit before speaking again. “Thanks, Eds… I know it’s so stupid, but--”

“Don’t mention it, Rich,” Eddie said, knocking shoulders with him. “It’s not that good a movie anyway… I’d rather just hang out with you.” Richie looked up at him at this, and Eddie blushed. 

“I can’t believe I was freaking out over such a dumb movie,” he said, grimacing in embarrassment. “If you think less of me now I totally understand.” Eddie shook his head.

“I don’t think there’s anything you could say that would make me think less of you,” he said with a small smile. Richie stared at him for a moment or two, and he seemed to be steeling himself for something. He swallowed a few times before taking a deep breath.

“I’m g--” The word appeared to get caught in his throat, and he blinked at Eddie a few times, who in turn was gazing back at him, wondering if he was about to say what Eddie thought, or perhaps hoped, he would say. “Uhhh great at fucking your mom!” Richie finished, laughing nervously in an attempt to cover up what had clearly been him trying to say something completely different. Eddie frowned, having the distinct feeling that they had come really close to something without being able to get it. 

“Oh,” he said, simply, looking away from Richie. He could practically feel Richie deflate next to him.

“Haha, yeah…”

They sat in silence for a few moments more before Richie sat up and got the fancy cider bottle from where he had put it down next to him and showed it to Eddie.

“Wanna drink?” he asked as he brandished the bottle. Eddie snorted.

“I didn’t even notice you brought it,” he said, reaching for it.

“Ah ah ah, I gotta open it first,” said Richie, bringing the bottle back to himself and using his other hand to take a bottle opener out of his pocket.

They sat together and drank cider out of the fancy bottle, and Eddie wondered if Richie was also thinking about all of the indirect kisses they were sharing by passing the bottle back and forth. Richie decided he was calm enough to hear Eddie give a shitty synopsis of the movie, which they both laughed at until there was a knock at the door.

“Guys, I have to go to the bathroom and also Ben wants to know where the cider is.” It was Stan. Richie and Eddie grinned at each other, trying to contain their giggles as they stood up and opened the door. 

“Your mom left a little bit ago, if you’re wondering where she is,” Richie said as they left the bathroom to allow Stan inside. Stan glared at them before closing the door in their faces as Eddie laughed harder.

Entering the living room, they found that the movie had finished and the Losers were just sitting around talking. When they got back to their spot on the floor by the couch, Richie handed the cider bottle to Ben.

“You’re in luck, Haystack. There’s just enough left for you!” he said. Ben grinned in thanks. 


End file.
